//------------------------------//
// Mare-Vel Adventures #6: Homecoming 
// Story: Rainbow Dash: Aerial Avenger 
// by The Bricklayer 
//------------------------------//

Returning to the base gave Rainbow an… odd feeling really, hearing the roar of jet engines above her. That could have been her up there right now, really. Taking to the skies without the need for a metal shell around her body, just her and the endless horizons. Just her and a sea of blue.

Looking down at her hands, they crackled with golden light. Forcing the power away and back into her body, she sighed. Alas, she was forced to hide her powers. Better the world didn’t know what exactly she was. A soldier, with the powers of a goddess! They’d be afraid of her, and the nations of the world would be afraid of the US and the power it now possessed. 

So, despite wanting to take to the skies once again, she would have to suppress her desire to do so. “So much for Rainbow Dash, Aerial Avenger, eh?”

But even as she stepped onto the concrete street that led up to her house, and was tackle-hugged by a purple-haired blur, she found that maybe she didn’t mind. She had all she needed right here.

“Welcome home…”





Night had fallen over HammerTech Industries, most people had already gone home, leaving nothing but a skeleton crew of security guards and the odd, passionate scientist behind, going about their work, like any other day. The only thing out of the ordinary the entire day had been a malfunction of the coffee machine, but even that was quickly solved. 

But, there was an ominous aura in the air, almost as if someone was watching them from the shadows outside.

“Hey, Bob? What are you looking at out there? Did a squirrel steal your wallet again?” It suddenly called out from behind one security guard, quickly followed up by a hand on his shoulder. 

With a sudden scream, Bob jumped around, staring directly into his colleague’s face. “God damn it Wayde! Never do that again!” He shouted at the other security guard. “And no, it’s just… I got the feeling we’re being watched, that’s all. And that only happened once! You don’t need to bring this up every night!”

“Aha, sure. Just like the time, you said a giant bulldog that just appeared out of nowhere, or when a frog with a hammer flew by. You really need to stop smoking weed on the job! Now, get back to your post! You can be paranoid there,” the other guard grumbled, already about to walk off again.

His exit was, however, loudly interrupted by the sound of metal crashing into each other and subsequently bending, followed by the roar of an engine. 

Both guards spun around, seeing a group of five armored trucks driving past where their gate had previously been and straight towards them. On all of the trucks was a painted logo, resembling ten bloody rings. About halfway there, the closest truck lowered his window, a man dressed entirely in black combat gear leaning out, holding what looked like some sort of grenade launcher. 

Before any of the two could even ask what was going on, glass was already shattering, as several black scattered across the ground next to them, only to release a grey-green cloud. Within seconds, the two of them were coughing like crazy, gasping for air on the ground, about two dozen of the masked figures storming into the building. One of them was barking out orders, shouting over the sounds of the men storming the building.

Anyone who tried to stop them were quickly gunned down. And then the men parted, letting by someone in red-gold robes with cascading black hair. The robed man tossed his gas mask aside, chuckling.

“A great man once said this,” said Xin Zhang. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. He was fooling himself. Soon the nations of the world will fear me!”

He made his way through the halls, with more guards attempting to stop him. They were better armed than the last ones, perhaps unsurprisingly given what these labs developed. “Another cog in the great american war machine…”

“Put your hands behind your head, and get on your knees!” a guard shouted. “Get on your knees right now!”

The Mandarin did neither. “It’s a pity really. You could have been something great. And instead you choose to take up arms against the innocent. I am naught but a simple teacher. Ready for your lesson?”

“On your knees!” the guard barked.

And the Mandarin struck, one of his rings glowing as he blasted the guard into a wall with a wave of pure sound. The other found himself unable to move, the gravity around him growing impossibly heavy. The Mandarin struck him across the leg via a kick, bones cracking as he toppled to the ground with a scream of pain.

But, the moment the second man hit the floor, four more guards stormed down into the main hall, weapons drawn and aimed at the invaders. The Mandarin simply snapped with his fingers, one of his rings once more glowing up, before every piece of ammunition the men were carrying went up in flames, their weapons quickly reduced to scraps and shrapnel as it ripped into the guards. And just to make sure, all four were thrown against the next best wall by a sound blast before they had even hit the floor. 

“Just the proof that you are as easily broken as the weapons you wield like they were your life,” he shook his head before moving past their mangled corpses. 

With alarms going off all around them, the Mandarin and his followers quickly advanced deeper into the building. They knew where they had to go and nothing would stop them from reaching their destination.

More guards tried to stop them, but the Mandarin with a wave of his hand allowed ice to creep up into their body armor. It sprouted like flowers, erupting from underneath. Xin would admit he rather enjoyed the terrified expressions on their faces. In fact, their faces were the only things that were visible, the ice almost completely encasing them.“Do I perceive the icy fingers of fear clutch your heart... just as the ice itself now tears at your armor?”

Breaking through another door with a kick, the Mandarin sighed to himself. Did nobody in this place present an actual challenge?

And then he saw the red dots cover his body as he entered a large open room. 

“On the ground!” someone shouted. “On the ground, or we will open fire!”

Sighing to himself, the Mandarin reached out. “Yes, you will.”

But it wasn’t he who was blown to pieces.

“Oh look, drone strikes,” the Mandarin remarked with a grin. “Shame about Hammer technology. I’ve heard they’ve had such bad targeting computers.”

It wouldn’t be long now. His target was in the next room over. All that he needed to do now was… Suddenly, something erupted from the wall, grabbing him and pulling him upwards. “Ah. Of course.”

The robotic arm slammed him into a wall, before tossing him to the other end of the room. Lights flickered as the impossibly massive form of Detroit Steel, but not strode into view. The Mandarin sighed to himself, Hammer did know he’d trashed this thing once right?

“Working late, Hammer?” Xin mocked. 

“I believe in overtime!” Justin called back, one of the suit’s arms surging forwards attempting to splatter Xin all across the room with a punch. The Mandarin leaped backwards, spinning in mid-air before landing on the floor in a slide. Taking a stance, his rings glowed in the low light. 

“Unpaid, of course,” Xin deadpanned.

“Well, it’s not like anyone’s complained before!” Justin returned, the suit’s chainsaw arm revving up.

Dodging a swing from the weapon, the Mandarin flipped backwards. “Oh, they probably do. Quite loudly at that. You just ignore their complaints, that’s all. You’re selectively deaf. If it doesn’t benefit you somehow, you manage to block it out. How admirable.”

“Oh, you flatter me!” Justin beamed.

“So this is the part where you attempt to kill me right?” the Mandarin sighed.

“I just know a big fat government pay check is heading my way if I kill the greatest threat to America right now!” Justin laughed, his massive machine running towards him.

“You see dollar signs, I only see disappointment,” lectured Xin, easily dodging the wild swing. “You could contribute so much to the world, instead all you offer is only bloodshed!”

Justin slammed him into a wall with a fist.

“Talk talk talk,” Justin said, punching the Mandarin again before he had a chance to recover. Spiderweb cracks erupted out from where he lay. “That’s all you ever do! I’m more a man of action!”

Then, jolts of electricity erupted up his arm, traveling up the armor. Taking advantage of the moment, the Mandarin surged forth, kicking Detroit Steel in the face. The armor stumbled back, staggering even as Xin landed in front of it. 

Spinning gracefully, the Mandarin made a ‘come forth’ gesture with his hand. Accepting the challenge, Justin urged the Detroit Steel armor forwards at surprising speeds. Propelled forth by jets, it came upon Xin at a speed he thought impossible at its size.

“How…?” he whispered.

“You do realize I only keep the best bits for myself right?” Justin’s voice crackled through the armor’s speakers. “There’s only so much that the public gets to see! The military called half of my upgrades completely unnecessary!”

Firing a series of missiles at Xin, he barely managed to destroy them with jets of fire from his ring.

“WELL, WHAT’S COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY NOW, HUH KIDDIES?” Justin laughed almost manically. 

“You’ve got an even bigger ego than Stark,” said Xin, kicking a missile back towards Justin, who made the armor side-step it. The Mandarin did a series of cartwheels, dodging shots from the suit’s gatling gun even as bullets riddled the walls behind him. “Congratulations, you must be so proud.”

Another one of his rings glowed, and veins of ice spouted all over the suit before the Mandarin began flinging blasts of wind at Justin. His suit took a stumble, and then it took a topple, crashing to the ground and landing in a small crater. 

“Disappointing,” said Xin as he looked behind him at the smoking mess. “I was actually hoping for more of a challenge. But I guess I expected too much from Justin Hammer!”

“What do you hope to gain by this attack, huh?” Justin roared as he climbed out of his armor. “Free publicity, if you wanted an autograph all you could have done was ask!”

Rifles were trained in his direction from Xin’s men. The Mandarin sighed, gesturing for them to lower their arms. The point had been made, no need for another body to bury. They’d caused enough carnage today. There were always casualties, but there was no need for unnecessary ones. He was a teacher, not a monster. He didn’t cause massacres.

“Oh, if anyone ever wants an autograph from you…” the Mandarin rolled his eyes before a sinister smirk crept its way up his face. “But really! An attack? Don't disappoint me now by thinking small, Mr. Hammer... I've just declared war.”

Using one of his wings to blow a door down, the Mandarin stepped into a lab. Curled up behind an overturned metal table was a dark-haired woman, cowering in fear. 

“Ms. McGowan!” the Mandarin greeted politely. “A pleasure for us to finally meet. I’ve been looking forward to this meeting for a while now.” 

No response. “Now, now, no need to be afraid. I’ve not come to harm you. No, I’m here to offer a proposition.”

“As if anyone would want to work with you!” It came back from behind the desk.

“Oh, I think you’re wrong on that end. As you can clearly see, I’m not alone. And, unlike Hammer’s men, they do not follow me for the money. No, no, they believe in what I want to achieve and create! And I’d like you to join me on my mission. Your magnificent mind will be used for something better than giving Hammer more ways to make money,” he calmly returned. “You could help far more people that way and I know you want to do that,” he continued, tapping on a white mug with a pink and light blue Captain America star on it.

Once more, there was no response. 

“I’m sure, this is not the America that they’d want it to be. The Howling Commandos, they fought for one nation under god with liberty and justice for all and what did their efforts amount to? NOTHING! A nation sending its children to die to fill the pockets of those who couldn’t care less about them. A nation that does not care for the future of this planet. A nation that doesn’t accept its own sons and daughters for who they are. And a nation concerned more with hating each other than striving to be there for each other. I intend to wake America up from this dream that has long since become a nightmare, but I need your help for this. I know we can make a difference!”

Charlene McGowan considered his offer. And… she considered her situation. The growing costs of medical bills, the legal costs and the debt she was in. Mountains of stress she’d been piled under. She’d always tried to suggest new things like gene modification to Justin, ways for her to make a profit for once in her goddamn life. But he always tossed her suggestions aside, too concerned with the business of making war. And here this man was, offering her an out!

The question was, should she take it?

…it was barely a question at all wasn’t it?

“So what do we do?” she answered, and the Mandarin smiled.

“Excellent!”

“DON’T YOU DARE, MCGOWAN!” roared Hammer. “YOUR LIFE BELONGS TO ME! Everything you’ve worked so hard to build, you want to throw it all away for him? Your life, your reputation? Just so you can prove a point?”

“I think we’ve heard enough from you, thank you,” said Xin, blowing him into a wall. “Oh, I’ve been so rude! I forgot to give you my card!”

His flame ring lighting up, he burned ten interlacing rings into the walls…





“Shock gripped the business world today as HammerTech Industries found itself attacked by the Mandarin and his forces. It seems his message is being sent loud and clear,” said one newscaster as behind her, an image of the Mandarin’s logo lay burned into a wall. “No longer will he be hiding in the shadows! It seems that the future of the nation hangs in the balance. We cut live to our reporter in the field, Coco Pommel for her thoughts on this whole disaster.”

“Yes, this is all incredibly terrible,” said Coco, her blue hair blowing in the breeze. Behind her was HammerTech, crime scene tape surrounding it. “They came late last night, like a hurricane according to eyewitnesses.”

Rushing up to Justin Hammer, who had been raging at everyone, she asked him: “Mr. Hammer, Mr. Hammer! What are your thoughts on this?”

“I’ll tell you my thoughts!” Justin snarled. “That man’s playing with fire! He’s got some nerve attacking me at my own workplace! All just to prove a point! He’s trying to show that nowhere is safe from his claws! Well, I, Justin Hammer, dare him to come back again!”

“You dare him?” Coco asked, sounding concerned. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

“Of course I dare him! This is a matter of pride now! He’s thumbing his nose at me!” said Hammer, blowing on his cigar. Coco visibly wrinkled her nose. “Cigar? No? Shame! Anyways, where was I…?”

“The Mandarin.” Coco reminded him.

“OH YES! Him! He killed several of my best men, and he’s cost me huge profits! Disgusting man really. Like, could he at least go and attack Stark? Maybe knock him off his golden throne? Huh, eh?”

The screen cut back to the newscaster. “So there you have it folks, and now for the weather!”

Of course, others had their thoughts on this development...

“And I tell you, this is just the start! This lunatic, he’ll be back! Attacking honest working American businessmen, like Justin Hammer! But I doubt that will be all! No! He isn’t working alone! They never do! No man can operate on this without funds! And I tell you, folks, this is definitely connected to Russia!” An old man shouted through his podcast. He was the face of the rather controversial site “TheDailyBugle.com”, Buried Lede. “Those Russians are up to something! Super Soldier experiments! Humans and animals alike! Research on robots and other weapons! They are even looking into mythology to find their own gods! Ha! Pathetic! And that Mandarin character must be their newest scheme, him and that flying woman! A miracle they call her! I call her a threat to national security! A dark star on the horizon, if you will!”

Buried continued to rant and rave at the camera. “And our government does nothing against them! It’s pathetic! President Madison Mare, I implore you to something before those Ruskies overrun our way of life! Are we not the greatest nation in the world, or are we not the greatest nation in the world?” he thundered. “We can’t lay down while we’re overrun! Do you want to be known as the president who let the Russians take us over, or do you want to be known as the one who pushed them back into the cold where they belong?”

The screen changed again, this time to the Madam President, questions fired at her fast and furious. “No, I don’t believe that the Mandarin is a work of Russia, no matter what internet theorists say. He is a very real threat, that much is true, but he belongs to no one country. He is a ronin, a samurai without a master to make a comparison. A lone wolf. But rest assured, we will put him down.”





“...idiot,” the Mandarin sighed as he turned off Buried’s podcast with a shake of his head. “The man is clearly going senile.  He’s good for a laugh, but he’s just another symptom of the American disease. He deserves to be cut out, like a cancerous tumor. They’re arrogant, thinking themselves the top nation in the world. It will be such a pleasure to cut them down to size.”

He strode into the next room. It was honestly surprising how America had stayed alive this long. They fought amongst themselves, for petty reasons. Class and race and other nonsense. It was time for that to come to an end. A new era of freedom and equality was what the world beckoned for, and he would be the one to lead it into that new age. Just like his ancestor, Ghengis Khan once did.

“Ms. McGowan, how goes the formula?” he asked, leaning over the woman’s shoulder. “Do you believe it will work?”

“I’m… working on it. But it has proven, a bit more… challenging to get right. I’m not sure if it is ready for the next stage yet. It should… if my calculations prove to be correct, but… I’m unsure if I’m being honest,” she sighed, holding a syringe in her hand as she did so. 

“Unsure?” the Mandarin asked. “You’re a genius, I have no doubts you can make this formula viable.”

“I… Maybe you’re right. It’s just… This could be dangerous and I haven’t really had any chances for long-term testing yet, or how it reacts to certain genes or genetic illnesses, or god knows if it could cause mutations or something similar,” McGowan continued, tightening her grip on the syringe lightly. “I’d just rather be sure.”

“We don’t have time to be sure,” said Xin, taking the syringe from her hands. “It’s time for a field test.”

“Wait!” McGowan shouted if to no avail. “Are you sure about this?”

“Well, if this fails, you can consider it something to learn from,” Xin shrugged. “If it works, it works!”

Several of his men were lined up along the wall, saluting him.

“They’re like dogs, incredibly loyal to me,” Xin went on. “They’d even die for me. Don’t you just wish you could find that anywhere else?”

Injecting one of his men, the Mandarin just watched what happened next. 

“How do you feel?” McGowan asked, a concerned look on her face.

“Uhm… Good, a bit hot maybe,” he awkwardly returned, before tugging on his collar. “Uff, yeah, a bit hot. How didn’t I notice that before?”

“You feel hot?” She returned, her eyes nervously looking the man up and down.

“Yeah, a bit… No, wait, a lot actually. Why is it suddenly so hot in here? Can someone activate the air conditioning?” The man continued, before adding, far louder and more forceful: “And fast! It feels like I’m in an oven! Man! It’s so damn hot!”

The man didn’t even notice how his veins started to glow a fiery red until they looked like his blood had been replaced with lava. McGowan took a step back, clasping her hands over her mouth as the man noticed himself.

“What- What the hell is this! It’s hot! It’s so hot!” His screams echoed through the room, just as the veins on his neck burst open, letting the glowing liquid shoot out of them right into the face of another man. In an instant, his face had gone up in flames and he was running around like a chicken without a head, before collapsing in a burning heap.

The first man, meanwhile, tried desperately to hold shut the gushing wound in his neck, only causing his hands to erupt into flames as well. Liquid oozed out of his eyes, like burning tears. All over his body, the phenomena repeated itself. The Mandarin and McGowan could only watch in horrified fascination. 

Ten seconds later and there was nothing left of him besides a bright, orange sludge and the smell of burned flesh as it ate its way through the concrete floor. 

“I guess he did feel hot,” said Xin, his voice numb before he turned to glare venomously at his chief scientist. “...be sure this mistake doesn’t happen again. Otherwise I may inject you with it!”

“Y-Yessir…” Charlene whispered scampering off.





Unaware of the developments behind the scenes, Rainbow continued on with her life.

“....a flying woman?” Fleetfoot scoffed at one of her fellow pilots. “Don’t be daft! That’s impossible! Clearly fake news strikes again! The tabloids just get more and more sensational. Next thing you know, Tony Stark will suddenly decide to become a saint and stop making weapons, and go into business selling clean energy for the world! Honestly…”

Rainbow smirked to herself, oh if only Fleetfoot knew. That smirk turned to a frown, it was doubtful anyone would see the miracle woman ever again. It was a nice thought though!

“Hey Rainbow, you alright?” Soarin’ asked her over lunch. “Something looks like it’s eating at you, like seriously! You haven’t touched your food!”

Rainbow looked down, huh. So she hadn’t.

“Sorry, it’s just… I’ve had a lot on my mind lately,” Rainbow muttered to herself.

“More than you’ll ever know…” she thought before shoving her lunch towards Soarin’. “Here, you take it.”

“...well, who am I to pass up free food?” Soarin’ mused to himself. “...shame it’s not pie, I wonder if we can get some of that Apple family pie snuck onto base? It’s always been finger-licking good!”

“Probably best not!” Rainbow teased. “I’ve seen you with pie, it’s kinda scary actually!”

Her mind found itself wandering to recent revelations…

“Waaaaaaaaait, wait, wait! So let me get this straight,” she said, gesturing wildly to Lawson, or Mar-Vehl apparently. “You’re an alien, from outer space and… oh Jesus, yeah, it’s official. I’ve finally gone crazy. Maybe I just bumped my head in that crash landing and I’ve been in a coma and this is all just some wild dream…”

“Was you flying a dream?” Mar-Vehl pointed out and Rainbow wisely conceded his point. “I’m from a distant planet, far from here. It’s called Hala. Why I’m here is not important, but I am truly sorry for what I did to you. You’ll never have a normal life now.”

“Why would you be sorry?” Rainbow laughed flexing her muscles. “Are you kidding me, this is great! I can fly! I’m basically bulletproof! I can shoot laser beams from my hands!”

“Photonic blasts, actually...” Coulson corrected, going unheard.

“You’re… taking this better than I expected,” Mar-Vehl remarked, eyes widened in surprise.

“Well, duh! I’m a freakin’ superhero right now! This is awesome!” Rainbow blabbered. “Didn’t you see me?” 

“Unfortunately, I would advise against going on another little adventure like that again,” Mar-Vehl said. “I’ve seen what this world’s like. They are simply not ready for you. They’ll hate you, they’ll be afraid of you. Imagine, just for a moment that you decide to go public. People are already afraid of others for something as simple as their race or their religion. Can you imagine what might happen if they saw you?”

“Man, this is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me since I got cleared to fly, and you want me to keep quiet about it?” Rainbow grumbled. “You’re no fun at all! And you know what, for a space alien I’d have expected you to be cool! Instead you’re just like the suit over there!”

Coulson ignored the insult.

“I’m gone,” Rainbow grumbled, waving them off. “You want me to keep quiet about my powers, you do you! But me, if I hear someone in trouble? Don’t expect me to lay down on the job!”

“Oh well, at least you understand me…” Rainbow sighed to herself, running a hand through Chewie’s fur, hearing her rumble up against her. “I mean, what? I’ve got superpowers now and I’m supposed to just pretend I don’t? How messed up is that?”

Oh, that was a mood! Talk about irony!

The phone rang, and through a series of events Rainbow found herself at Rarity’s personal boutique in the city. The bell rang as she entered, and Rarity soon swept her up like a hurricane, babbling rapidly about something or other. She honestly couldn’t catch all of it. And then she saw the costumes. Like, serious wall to wall superheroics. In all shapes, sizes, and colors. Giving Rarity a dull look, she played dumb,

“...wow, you got inspired huh?” Rainbow remarked. “This flying woman must have struck like lightning!”

“Don’t play dumb dearie,” Rarity said giving her an equally deadpan look. “I know it was you. I remember the accident. It didn’t take me long to put two and two together. So, well, if you’re going to be out flying and doing feats of derring do, well! You simply must do it in the proper garb!”

So Rarity took her through a multitude of outfits, some great and others… not so much.

“...Really Rares?” Rainbow drawled, her legs bare to the world and basically wearing nothing but a swimsuit with a cape. The red and black was nice, and the domino mask was classy, but… she felt very exposed! “I look like a stripper! A desperate stripper.”

The next one wasn’t bad, black on white. Very primary. A blazing star insignia was across her chest.

“Hmmm, getting there but maybe a bit too Pink Floyd, shine on me you crazy diamond,” Rainbow said. “Way too monochrome!”

The next one was… yeah, okay it was terrible. It was too skintight and she was pretty sure the leotard was giving her an epic wedgie! The lightning bolt was a nice touch though, and she did like the waist scarf thing. But otherwise… “Rarity, did I say to you that I wanted to wear something classic, something probably politically incorrect and kick butt in giant wedge heels? NO!”

“...right,” Rarity nodded seeing how uncomfortable it really looked. “I see your point! Oh, don’t you worry, I have others!”

“Swell…” Rainbow drawled.

The next was much better. Like the black and white one, it covered everything and looked nice, except…

“I’m pretty sure the white on red is going to get me sued,” Rainbow said, noting the giant thunderbolt across her chest. “Like this is basically asking for a lawsuit!”

The next one? Covering, but it like the others had problems.

“No, just no,” Rainbow said, totally unable to focus her eyes on just one thing as she looked at herself in the mirror. “The 60s called, they want their psychedelia back!”

Rarity vetoed that one as well, seeing her point.

Finally, however, she broke out into a grin upon seeing Rainbow strut out in the perfect mix. It was a nice mix of red, blue, and a little bit of gold. Rainbow smirked, turning to see herself from behind, looking over her shoulder. Just one thing was missing. Grabbing the waist scarf from that other costume, she wrapped it around herself. Slamming a fist into her outstretched palm, she felt energy crackle under her skin. 

“Perfect,” Rarity said with a grin that perfectly mirrored Rainbow’s own. “Très magnifique! Oh, I sometimes amaze even myself with my genius! It’s scary really! Oh my, you look like you’re ready to take on the world!”

“Oh yeaaaaaaaaah, now this is nice,” Rainbow said with a cocky grin. “Take this pink ribbon off my eyes .I'm exposed and it's no big surprise. 'Cause I'm just a girl, oh, little old me. Oh, I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite! NOT!” 

Rainbow couldn’t resist, she knew she was probably getting ahead of herself, but she just had to. Burning a hole in the air, she took to the sky. Letting out a cry, she called out: “OH YEAH!” as the great wide open stretched itself in front of her. Nothing but blue horizons from here on in…





Well, maybe. Because turning on the news the next morning warranted this stunning horror from the Mandarin. Time for another lesson. “True story about fortune cookies. They look Chinese, they sound Chinese, but they're actually an American invention. Which is why they're hollow, full of lies, and leave a bad taste in the mouth,” he said as a building burned behind him. “My disciples just destroyed another cheap American knock-off, The Chinese Theater. Madam President, I know this must be getting frustrating, but this year of terror is drawing to a close. I’m almost done instructing you. And don't worry, the big one is coming; your graduation.”